Originally Posted by gettingold

As I have previously posted, I am one of the few that has put a Brooks on a Madone. The weight didn't bother me and I have always (since the 70s) loved the look, although this is the first I have owned. I bought the B17N because I wanted something with a more roadie feel than the B17. It wasn't heaven out of the box, but it also wasn't hell. I proofided it, leveled it and began riding various lengths between 20 and 50. The first three hundred miles it felt pretty decent and seemed to be getting better each ride with a little tweaking of the height to try to match the height of the bontrager it replaced (which incidentally I like). I vividly recall one moment a couple of weeks ago about 30 miles in where I thought I had it made; it felt great.

Then, this past Sunday about halfway through a 40 mile ride, nirvana didn't strike; it turned awful and I had to stand up constantly just to make it back home. On a hunch, I pulled the level out and sure enough, the nose had slid down quite a bit. I tweaked the nose up a bit past level and am looking to get out tonight. I also put some Rawlings glovinator (lanolin) on it to try to speed the process after reading Sheldon Brown's site. This project has taken on a bit more importance as I am riding a century on the 5th.

I am cautiously optimistic.